Core making machine



Sept. 25, 1956 A. H. PETERSON com: MAKING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 30, 1951 I l INVENTOR.

+3 ofZzeZ If. Psiefiso/z United States Patent CORE MAKING MACHINE Axel H. Peterson, Rock Island, Ill.

Application June 30, 1951, Serial No. 234,507

3 Claims. (Cl. 22-10) This invention relates to a valve for a sand passage opening into a sand container or reservoir of a core making machine or the like.

More specifically, the invention is directed to a valve that closes the sand hopper end of an opening into a sand blowing head of a core making machine, this valve providing a seal for the head during the sand blowing operation and also providing a means for supplying additional sand to the head from within a storage hopper.

It is one of the main objects of the present invention to provide a valve that can be moved into closure relation to the opening of a sand container or sand blowing head and which can be quickly unsealed and released and moved bodily away from this opening into a remote inoperative position to permit supplying additional sand into the head from Within a sand hopper.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a movably supported valve that is carried out of the way from the sand opening of a sand container by a means that is resiliently operable to normally urge the valve into its inoperative position. I

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a valve operating handle that is swingable from a valve locking position into a valve release position, the latter being determined by suitable cooperative stop means that positions the handle directly toward the operator, and when said handle is in said valve released position, the entire unit is swingable into an inoperative raised I position remote from the opening normally closed by the valve, the cooperative stop means also disposing the handle in a predetermined relation with respect to the operator when the valve is raised.

This invention also contemplates the use of'simple cooperative locking means for tightly sealing the valve unit to the opening in the sand blowing head with the further addition of frictional means interposed between at least one of the cooperative means and the valve unit to prevent free swinging of the handle operating said Fig. l is a plan View of the sand valve of the present invention as arranged and applied for closing the sand opening from a sand blowing head of a core making machine that is associated with a sand feed hopper;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the valve structure per se fragmentarily illustrating some of the core making machine parts, this view also breaking out a portion of the valve carrying arm to better illustrate the details of the valve construction such arm;

which lies immediately beneath 2,763,902 v Patented sept. 25, 1956 Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the core making machine showing the top of the sand blowing head and the hopper together with the embodiments of the valve of the present invention, certain parts of both being broken away and in section as substantially seen along the line 3-3 in Fig. 2 to better illustrate the details of construction thereof; and

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the core making machine and sand valve illustrated in Fig. 1 with certain of the parts shown in different positions of operation.

In Fig. l, the core making machine is indicated as comprising a sand blowing head 1 which presents a flat upper surface as shown at 2 in Fig. 3 upon which is received the base 3 of a sand supply hopper 4, the hopper being secured to the head by means of the screws 5 illustrated in Fig. 1. As seen in Fig. 3, the head 1 has a central opening 6 defined by a depending circular wall 7 and the upper end of the opening is surrounded by an annular upstanding rim 8 which projects through a suitable opening 9 in the hopper 4 for the purpose of receiving the sand valve 10 comprising the structure of the present invention.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the valve unit comprises a supporting arm 11 carrying a circular disc 12 of rubber of other resilient material which is attached to the bottom face 13 of the arm by means of the plate 14 that is secured in place with screws 15 that thread into the supporting arm 11.

The supporting arm 11 is provided with a central boss 16 to loosely receive a valve rod 17 which is rotatably carried within a bore 18 extending through the boss 16 and the balance of the arm 11 to project through an opening 12a in the disc 12 and then on through an aligned bore 19 that is drilled through the plate 14. The bottom end of the valve rod 17 is connected by means of a pin 20 with a rotary valve clamp 21 which is provided with a pair of wings 22 and 23 best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The valve clamp 21 is made to rotate within the opening 6 upon rotational actuation of the valve rod 17, and the wings 22 and 23 are provided with cam surfaces 24 and 25 that move in a generally horizontal plane. A pair of studs 26 and 27 are carried in bores 28 and 29 formed in the head 1 and the studs have hardened heads 30 and 31 that are drawn tightly into recesses 32 and 33 in the wall of the head opening 6 by means of the nuts 34 and 35. The heads 30 and 31 are positioned for direct contact by means of the cam surfaces 24 V and 25 of the clamp 21 when the valve parts are generally moved into the position indicated in full lines in Fig. 2.

The upper portion of the valve rod 17 passes through an anti-friction flanged bushing 36 and is secured to a handle 37 by means of a locking bolt 38 forced against an elongated flat 38a on the rod 17 so that the motion of handle 37 will be transmitted to the rod 17 for rotating the clamp 21. Rod 17 terminates in a threaded end 39 to receive a nut 40 thereon for contacting engagement with the top of the rod end of handle 37 to complete the assembly of the valve unit.

Interposed between the clamp 21 and the adjacent face of the plate 14 is an expansion spring 42 encircling the rod 17 and the springs bears downwardly upon the upper surface 43 of the clamp 21 and also bears upwardly against a washer 44 that engages the adjacent surface of the plate 14. Spring 42, therefore, provides an expansion member which normally maintains the clamp 21 in a given outward position with respect to the adjacent face of the plate 14 so that this clamp member will always be in properrelation to engage the bolt heads 30 and 31 of the sand blowing head 1. Outward movement of the clamp 21 and rod 17 is limited by the engagement of nut 40 with the upper face of the rod and of handle 37. The

vent free swinging 'of the handle andthefvalv'e parts rela tive to the arm 11 since the spring 42 is interposed between therotative valve structure and a stationary-supporting means for. the valve. i

' With the use of the spring means ,42,.tightening of nut 40 will allow upward endwise adjustment of the rod 17 and clamping parts comprising thewings 22 and 23 of clamp 21. Thus wear between the heads 30 and 31 and the coacting cam surfaces 24 and 25, as well as wear of the disc 12 on rim 8 may be periodically accommodated.

Attention is also directed to the use of disc 12 and the retaining compression plate 14 that squeezes the resilient disc when the screws .15 are drawn tight. The disc will be forced radially inwardly at the opening 12a to circumferentially engage about shaft or rod 17 where the latter passes through said disc. This provides'an efficient and effective air and sand seal to prevent leakage and wear at the valve parts disposed above the position of the disc, for example, such parts as the bushing 36 and the rod portion in said bushing, etc. Referring to Figs. 1 and 4,. the supporting arm 11 is L-shaped to provide a valve leg 45 that carries the valve structure and a laterally extending leg 46 that terminates in a supporting boss 47 secured at 48 to a stub shaft 49. The valve leg 45 is provided with a vertical strengthening web 50 which leads from the boss 16 of the supporting arm 11 to the outer edge of the arm and downwardly therefrom to further reenforce this portion of the supporting means for the valve. The operating handle 37 is provided with a pin 51 which depends from the handle into a position where this pin will strike the side of the web 50 of the supporting arm 11 so that the movement handle 37 as shown in Fig. 1 will be from the full line position to the broken line position and the latter is determined by the pin 51 striking the web 50. Obviously, the full line position there shown will be determined by the lockingposition of the earns 24 and 25 in their-rotary engagement and contact with the bolt heads 30 and 31. It should also be noted that moving the arm as shown in Figs. 1 and2 from the full line position to thebroken line position that the wings 22 and 23 of the valve clamp 21. will then be entirely clear of the bolt heads 30 and "31 so that the entirevalve structure may then be" moved outwardly of the opening 6 of the blow head under the guidance of the arm. 11. I

Referring back to Fig. 1, the stub shaft 49 passes through a spring housing 52 that has aligned bearings 53 and 54 for supporting the stub shaft 49. Housing'52 is bolted as at 55 to the side wall 56 of the hopper. A retaining collar. 57 may be secured to the end of the stub shaft 49 if desired to aid in holding the assembled parts .in their proper pivotal relationship as illustrated in Figs. 1

and 4.

A torsion spring 58 has one end arranged for insertion intoan offset axial hole 59in a collar 59a that is secured to shaft 49 with a set screw. 5%. Spring 59 is wound about shaft 49 to terminate in a radially extended end60 which engages a wall of the spring housing 52. The tension of spring 58 is such as to normally turn the stub shaft in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4, and this action is transmitted to the supporting arm 11 and to the entire valve assembly 10 togetherwith its operating arm 37 so that all of these parts are normally urged into thefull line position illustrated in Fig. 4.

By releasing set screw 5%, collar 59a may be rotated on shaft 49 to either increase or decrease the amount of the operative tension of the spring 58 to adjust the rate and lifting effort of the arm 11 or the retention of such arm in raised position.

The supporting arm 11 and its connected parts are.

stopped in the position shown in Fig. 4 by means of a grommet 61 secured to the wall 56 of the hopper 4, this grommet engaging a suitable boss such' as 62 forming a part of the leg 45 of the supporting It should also be noted that the forward edges of the side walls 56 and'as of the'hopper 4 are indicated at 64 and 65 and recede inwardly and upwardly from the bottom wall 3 of the hopper, the right hand recession of the former wall at 64 providing clearance for the swingable mechanism so that no portion of the latter which carries the valve 10 will strike any portion of the hopper wall excepting for the boss 62 which contacts the grommet 61. Although the receding portion 65 of the wall 63 does not form any essential part of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, it is to be understood that this entire mechanism may be made with a left hand supporting unit in place of a right hand unit as shown in Fig. 1 for the swinging to the left, in which case the receding portion 65 of the wall 63 will furnish clearance in that situation.

In the operation of the core making machine, the sand valve 10 will be locked to seal the upper end of the opening ,6 by means of the gasket or annular ring 12 being forced tightly downwardly upon the upstanding rim 8 by means of the cooperative mechanisms comprising the wings .22 and 23 and the bolt heads 30 and 31. When it becomes necessary to supply additional sand from within" the hopper 4 through the opening 6 into the interior of the sand blowing head 1, handle 37 is swung by the operator from the full line position in Fig. 1 to the broken line position as determined by the pin 51. This frees the clampingparts of the valve and the action of the spring 58 lifts the supporting arm 11 and the entire valve structure into the full line position shown in Fig. 4. When the position shown in Fig. 4 is reached, the handle 37 occupies a forwardly extended position in a convenient available relation to the operator.

After the sand has been moved from within the hopper 4 into the sand blowing head 1, the operator can reach up and grasp the handle 37 shown in the Fig. 4 position and quickly move the entire assembly about the stub shaft 49 and in thedirection of the arrow 66 toward the rim 8 surrounding the opening 6 of the sand blowing head which will again place the entire unit in the broken line position shown in Fig.4, but with the handle 37 pointing straight forward to the operator. After contact is made of the valve parts with the sand head parts, the operator merely moves the handle clockwise as shown in Fig. 1 or to the left as illustrated in Fig. 4 to again tightly lock the valve parts into sealing relationship with the sand blowing head.

With the cooperation of the pin 51 with the web 50 V as shown in Fig. 4, the operators downward pull or thrust on the handle 37 will normally maintain the parts in the proper relationship so that the wings of the clamp 21 will properly clear the heads 30 and 31 during this actuation of the valve assembly with the lateral swinging of the handle 37 with the parts in the down position comprising a continued normal motion that may be quickly accomplished to restore the machine to operating condition.

The bodily actuation of the valve unit and its handle operated parts is, therefore, accomplished by the swingable support which provides a means for moving the entire valve mechanism away from the sand receiving opening and into a remote out of the way position to allow the operator to freely move sand from within the hopper into the opening of the blow head. The movement of the valve by the support provides a guided motion between an operative position and an inoperative position and also provides an instrumentality for bodily moving the valve operating handle between the operative relationship of the valve and the inoperative relation thereof. Thus by the addition of cooperative stop means for the handle, it is possible to prelocate the handle for direct cooperation during the swinging movement to also position such handle where it will be easily available to the operator in moving the valve unit between operative and inoperative positions.

It is to be understood that the specific description as relating. to-{the disclosure presented in the drawings is all directed to a preferred embodiment of the invention and that this specific description and disclosure may be departed from without deviating from the fundamental spirit of the invention excepting as may be limited by the breadth and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. in a core making machine, a core sand supply head with a top sand receiving opening therein, a walled sand supply hopper for said head mounted in fixed relationship upon the head and about said opening, said supply hopper having an open side, and a closure valve for said head opening comprising a swingable support connected with said closure valve, cooperative mechanism on said closure valve and head to secure said valve into sealing contact with said head opening, pivotal mounting means attached to an exterior side of said hopper adjacent said open side in a location remotely spaced from the location of the top opening of the supply head and connected with said support whereby the latter may bodily move said valve from sealing position upon the head opening to a raised position adjacent said one hopper side, said cooperative mechanism for said closure valve providing means to secure said support against swinging movement while said closure valve seals said head opening, an operating member connected with said cooperative mechanism to actuate the latter from head opening sealing relation to release position in moving said member between two predetermined positions, said member comprising means to move said support and the closure valve into raised position when said member is actuated into valve release relation, and cooperative means connected with said member and with said support for determining the positions of said member for carrying out the valve releasing function thereof and to dispose said member for convenient support for actuation by an operator, and biasing means connected with said support to normally urge the support in a direction to raise the closure valve away from said head opening and toward the one hopper side, said biasing means being rendered operative by the release of said closure valve from the head opening through said operating member.

2. In a core making machine, a core sand head, a walled hopper carried in fixed relationship upon said head with said head and hopper having a sand entry opening for sand supply feed from the hopper into the head, and said hopper having an open front to permit access by an operator to move hopper sand into said head, and a closure means to seal said sand entry opening comprising a valve, cooperative rotatable closure members connected with said valve and head to seat said valve with respect to the entry opening when said members are rotated into one relative position, a handle connected with said valve and connected with at least one of said closure members, said handle being constructed and arranged to extend outwardly of the open front of said hopper for swinging movement to seat the valve when in one position and movable across the open front of said hopper to release said closure members to permit valve opening, a swingable support mounted externally of the hopper and adjacent a closed side of said hopper and connected with said valve to bodily actuate the latter from said entry opening upwardly and toward said closed side of said hopper, and coacting stop elements on said support and said handle to determine the valve opening release position of said handle and to stop further movement of the handle toward said support and in the direction of its mounting whereby said handle and stop means together function to swing said support toward said one side of the hopper, said stop elements functioning to hold said handle in an outwardly extended position beyond the open hopper front in a position available to an operator to swing said support and valve into closing position.

3. In a core making machine, a core sand head, a walled core sand hopper with an open front and with a bottom horizontally mounted upon said core sand head and fixed with respect thereto, and wherein said head includes a sand entry opening communicable with the interior of said hopper, and a closure unit for said sand entry opening comprising a valve for said opening, cooperable means connected with said valve and with said head to seat the valve when said means are actuated into one coacting relationship in a horizontal plane, a handle extending through said open front of said hopper and carried by said valve and connected with one of said cooperable means to move the same into said one coacting relationship when said handle is moved across said hopper bottom, movement of said handle in the other direction across the open front of said hopper causing release of said cooperative means to permit said valve to open, and an elongated support pivotally mounted externally of one side portion of said hopper in a position remote from said sand entry opening and connected with said valve to bodily swing said valve away from said sand opening of said head and into a raised offside and stored position with respect to said sand entry opening to permit free sand feed from all sides of said hopper into said head opening, and coacting stop members connected with said handle and with said support respectively, said support stop member being arranged in the path of said handle stop member to limit the handle swing across the open hopper front for releasing the valve and to lock the handle against further motion relative to the support whereby said handle is adapted to swing said support and valve into said raised offside stored position with respect to the hopper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,563,156 Burman Nov. 24, 1925 1,833,208 Davidson Nov. 24, 1931 2,171,876 Jenkins Sept. 5, 1939 2,260,752 Marasso Oct. 28, 1941 2,465,727 Jensen Mar. 29, 1949 2,490,559 Taccone Dec. 6, 1949 2,505,637 Chase Apr. 25, 1950 2,538,770 Fea Jan. 23, 1951 

